Soil is a complex ecosystem with diverse microenvironments ranging from bulk soil with low quality substrates and no or very limited microbial growth, to high quality C-rich environments near decomposing litter and rhizosphere where microbial growth and death rates are high. Soil contains different microbial communities, supports varying microbial activities […]
When new carbon enters soil, especially carbon that is easily assimilated and decomposed by soil microorganisms, a chain reaction occurs leading to the breakdown of older soil carbon, carbon that would otherwise have remained stable. Current theory does not explain this chain reaction, sometimes called the “priming effect.” But understanding […]
We study antibiotic resistance in human pathogens, genetic sampling of meat for antibiotic resistance, methods to develop a molecular database for strains of E. coli in urinary tract infections, and food safety of kosher vs non-kosher chicken.
Heat waves in Arizona: Do microbial symbionts buffer the effects of heat waves?
We study soil microbial communities in Antarctica, microbes in hot spring ecosystems in Tengchong, China, methane production at Axel Heiberg Island near Greenland as an analog for life on other planets, and the distribution of soil microbial communities across the arid Southwest.
Bruce Hungate, Director of Ecoss gave the keynote address to the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague this week for the session, “How do Biogeochemical Cycles Operate on a high-CO2 Planet?” The abstract for Dr. Hungate’s keynote address was entitled “Rising CO2 and the Biogeochemistry of Soil Microbial Ecosystems.”
The “Multiple Dimensions of Bioscience” Travel Award supported Rachel Rubin’s travel to Evolution 2015, the joint annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), and the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) in Guaruj, Brazil.
As part of a large interdisciplinary team, with funding from the National Science Foundation, we have studied how genetic and environmental factors affect leaf litter quality in cottonwoods and other riparian species, and how these effects are manifest in aquatic ecosystems.
Invasive plants like cheatgrass have huge and costly effects on ecosystems. Restoring native plants to areas invaded by cheatgrass is challenging, and one explanation for poor seedling establishment is the absence of beneficial soil microbes. In this project, we are testing the idea that restoring microbial communities promotes ecosystem recovery and the re-establishment of native plants.
The American Society for Microbiology awarded the 2015 FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Award to Ember Morrissey, Ph.D. Morrissey will be presenting her latest, groundbreaking research at the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) 6th Congress of European Microbiologists hosted this year in Maastricht, the Netherlands, on 7–11 June. Morrissey is currently a […]